Chuck's game
by Tynianrex
Summary: A dark AU with a new beginning for a younger Chuck and Sarah. Charah as always, I promise faster updates this time!
1. Chapter 1

Chuck's game

Chapter 1

Jenny quietly opened the door and slide into the room. It was a clear, well lighted placed, and for some reason, it stank of efficiency and anonymity. Of practicality. Lodged in what appears to be an abandoned military training camp, this place looked like a mess hall with a fresh coat of paint. Which of course, it was.

Upon entering, she quickly scanned the room. Her father had taught her well and she could read a room easily, even one as unusual as this one.

It was a strange gathering of individuals, around fifteen teenagers, all of them between 16 to 20 years old. Just like Jenny, they were all dressed in gray sweats and t-shirts. But, other than their youth and forced wardrobe choices, this was a heterogeneous group. A strange mix of races, accents and classes, that, by Jenny's estimations, had been collected from all across the country. Some of them looked like foreigners, although it was hard to tell.

She stood in the corner, trying to blend with the room. Most of the kids there were in small groups, talking quietly, stealing furtive gazes to each other. Obviously, none of them knew entirely why they were there.

A girl of about 16 years old was sitting against a wall. She was tall and lanky, with a beautiful tanned skin and huge, dark eyes. Her long, silky but somewhat skinny legs were collected under her.

Upon noticing her, the girl offered Jenny a hesitant smile, which she returned. Crossing the room, she went to the tall girl and sit next to her.

They sit in silence for a few minutes, until the girl turned to face Jenny, eyes full of curiosity.

- "So, what's your thing"- she asked.

"My thing?"-Jenny answered, doubtfully.

-"Yeah, you know, everybody here is kind of a criminal. I was among the first to came here, over a week ago, and the only thing that we know for sure is that we all chose to come here instead of facing time. You see Kenny over there?- She asked, pointing to a small boy sitting in the corner- "He claims that he can steal any car in the planet" "And Julio over there"- She said, pointing another boy- "His father was a locksmith, and they worked together in the family business until little Julio decided to use daddy's training to commit a little burglary. So, what's your thing"

Jenny was shy by nature, and if she had learned anything from his father, was to deflect when necessary. So, she asked instead- "And what's yours?"

-"Well"- she answered, shifting in the bench- "I'm..."

-"Silence"- a deep, commanding voice silenced all conversation in the room. At that point, Jenny noticed that the doors were open and a familiar figure entered the Hall.

He was a tall, black man dressed in a crisp gray suit. He slowly walked tot the front of the hall, and stood, hands between his back.

-"Okay, some of you know me, some of you don't"- He said in a slow, methodical and slightly menacing way- "I'm the Director and you are all here because you were chosen for two reasons. First, every one of you have some skill that we considered useful. Among you we have thieves, killers, con-artists, hackers... prostitutes"- He grumbled. The girl next to Jenny shifted awkwardly in her seat.- "You will learn from each other, train each other, until I consider that you are ready. And then I'll send you to serve this country."

-"But that's not all that you have in common. You all have something to lose more important than yourselves. So, I gave you a choice: work with me for a few years and you'll be free or someone close to you suffer. So, there will be no disobedience here, no refusing of any kind to my command. And no escaping"

He walked the room until he stand next to Sarah

-"From now on, you are dead to the outside world. There will be no contact with anyone outside of this hall unless I said so. You have also been provided with new identities. From now on, THOSE will be your names. Whoever you were before is dead. Gone"

He looked at Jenny straight in the eyes

-"You. What's your name"

"I'm Sarah Walker" she answered without hesitation, her chin raised as in a challenge

"Good girl. And you?- he asked to the girl sitting next to Sarah

"My name is Zondra"- she answered in a small voice.

Author's note:

Here's the thing: I love Chuck. And I love fanfiction.

But, right now, Chuck the show is dead (I won't comment on the finale), and the truth is that the fanfiction community is only going to survive if the people that forms it keep it alive.

So, this is my contribution to the cause. While my writing has certainly rusted in the last year too much write a new chapter of the Pond without a little practice (although, I'm working on it), I'd like to try something different.

The thing is, my schedule doesn't give me much time to write anymore, so this is an experiment of sorts. Shorter chapters, frequent updates (or at least I'll try), usually only one or two scenes, and no beta, which trust me, I really missed, but takes some time that I prefer to invest in writing.

About this story, yes, of course Chuck will be here. And of course, this is a Charah story, starting by next chapter. One thing should be clear: this is a AU slightly based on Sarah's background as was provided by Nervert in one of my favorite stories, Chuck versus the Pacific Northwest.

As usual, all constructive criticism and advice is welcome.


	2. Chapter 2

Chuck's game

Chapter 2: Hot for teacher

- "I hate this"- Sarah confessed in a whisper, looking at Zondra's eyes

- "I know you do, honey, put it came with the territory. We have to make sacrifices for the greater good. At least, be grateful that you know all this people. Doing this in front of strangers could be a lot more awkward. Trust me. They are going to be gentle on you. You are going to be great. Just do as we practiced"- The brunette reassure her.

- "I hate teaching"- Sarah finally sighed, turning to face the classroom.

It's been three weeks since the last kid got there and, so far, it had been a bizarre experience. Other than the guards and a PT instructor from hell, there were no "adult" presence in the camp. Even The Director, as most kids called him, had been absent, with only a weekly sheet of paper, with the name of the subjects to be taught, the timetables and the designated "instructors" as all the instructions that they had received. So far, nobody has disobeyed the schedule. No one dare.

Judging from her past experiences, Sarah had thought that a group of people in their late teens without a clear authority setting boundaries would soon devolve into a dog-eat-dog society. Kind of like The Lord of the Flies, but with more hormones and pimples.

However, the truth was that, so far, everybody was civil to each other. Even nice. Specially with Zondra, with her friendly smile and wacky sense of humor. Sarah was more that content to hide in her friend's shadow, unnoticed by the group.

But this was different. This time, she was at the spotlight, where she was supposed to teach everything her father had taught her. To lie. To deceive. To con.

She cleared her throat and spoke to the class.

-"Hi. I'm Sarah and I'm going to be your instructor today in deception and manipulation"- That was a running joke in the group, that way of introducing themselves and whatever they were supposed to be teaching.

Once again, Sarah felt like she was part of a weird social experiment. This week, she and Zondra were supposed to teach "deception and manipulation", whatever that meant. They never received further instructions or clarifications. Sometimes, the names of the classes morphed from week to week. So, Carlos had taught "How to pick a lock" in the first two weeks, and now he had to teach them "infiltration and stealth"

Sarah wasn't quite sure of why she had to teach this with Zondra, although she has her suspicions that in the next weeks she may learn how both their skill sets work in tandem. She preferred not to think about it.

- "Anyway, deception is, like, when you have to deceive someone"- She cringed at her choice of word. At her back, Zondra tried to suppress a giggle. _God, I'm awful at this_, she thought.

-"So"- she tried to continue, despite the embarrassment - "when you try to deceive someone, you try to make him assume things. To feel comfortable in the situation, to feel in charge. If possible, you should try to make them think that _they_ are the deceivers"

-"Like a magician?"- someone asked from the audience.

Zondra quickly gazed towards the tall, lanky boy sitting in the front row with his hand raised. _Perfect_, she thougt. _Sarah's admirer_.

For the last couple of weeks, ever since the boy had arrived to the camp, he and Sarah had exchanged longing looks over the mess hall during each and every meal. But, as far as Zondra knew, they had never exchanged a single word. Come to think about it, other that the british boy, Cole, Charlie doesn't seem to talk with anyone.

- "Exactly"- Sarah beamed at him. Zondra rolled her eyes at Sarah's smitten tone- "Like a magician. You have to use misdirection to make one thing look like another. To play with the mark's expectations, to make them thing that they are getting what they want, even when they are not"- Pointing at the tall guy, Sarah asked- "Carmichael, would you help us with a little demonstration"

Zondra shifted her feet, uncomfortable. What was Sarah thinking? She knew that the plan called for Zondra to act _friendly_ towards the mark. And even if it sounded fun when they were planning it, she didn't want to flirt with her friend's crush right in front of her. Why had she picked Charlie of all people?

Charlie stood up and walked to the front of the class, where Sarah positioned him between Zondra and her.

"Thanks, Carmichael"- Sarah beamed to him.- "Let's just play a little game. Zondra and I will make a team, and our objective is to steal your ID card.

-"I will give you my ID when you take it from my thin, starving hands"- Charlie grumble in response, causing a few laughs in the classroom. Stealing each other cards was a standing game in the group. The rules were simple: if you stole someone's ID, you win the right to eat their ration on whatever next meal was. And Charlie was, by far, the one that had lost more meals thanks to this game.

"So, what do I do now"- Charlie asked with a smile to Sarah

"Nothing, Charlie. You just stay there"- answered a silky voice at his back.

He turned, only to froze in surprise at the vision that presented to him

While she was still dressed in the same gray sweat pants and t-shirt as all of them, something was different in Zondra's demeanor that make Charlie all of the sudden very aware of her presence and femininity. With only a soft smile and a slight inclination of her head, she had managed to enrapture his attention.

She walked a few steps, until they were just a few inches apart. Without breaking eye contact, Zondra softly placed her hands in Charlie's chest, her eyes mysterious.

Charlie let out a rather high pitched scream as he felt Sarah's hand sliding in his right pocket. He tried to grab her wrist and spin at the same time, tripping with his own feet and falling to the floor. Trying to prevent his fall, he grab Zondra with his left arm without letting go Sarah's hand, causing the three of them to fall in a pile to the ground.

The class began to laugh, loudly while the three of them disentangle from each other and stand up.

-"Well, that was embarrassing"- Zondra said with a blush covering her face.- "I guess that the lesson here was that sometime you fail"- she said to the class with a laugh.

-"Actually"- Sarah said with a shy smile, holding Zondra's card in her left card- "The lesson here is that the easiest mark is the one that thinks that you are the mark"- She said, exchanging a knowing smile with Charlie as she gave him the card.

-"That"- he added with his own satisfied grin- "and that you should never underestimate an hungry nerd"


End file.
